Why Some Barry Keoghan Fans Are Convinced He's In Dune: Part Two
Director Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part One" was one of last year's most highly anticipated and, ultimately, successful films — not only did it receive mostly positive reviews by critics, but it made over $398 million worldwide at the box office (via Box Office Mojo), despite a dual release on HBO Max.
"Dune: Part One" only covered about half of the book's plot, with Villeneuve only signing on as director if he could split the source material into two films (via IndieWire). Thus, when Warner Bros. greenlit "Dune: Part Two" following the release of the first film, fans were immediately ecstatic that they'd get to see the full story play out: That second installment is scheduled to be released on October 20, 2023. Now, with an entire second half of a book left to cover, there are still a slew of notable characters that we didn't get to meet in "Dune: Part One," leaving fans the fun task of imagining who they might like to see step into these roles.
While nothing is confirmed yet, fans recently became convinced that they know who may be playing the antagonist Feyd, the nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) — and that's "Eternals" star Barry Keoghan. Whether or not you can picture Keoghan in the role, you may be wondering how fans came to this conclusion. Read on to see why fans are so sure that Keoghan will be in "Dune: Part Two."
Fans read into a cryptic tweet by Keoghan
As explained by NerdBot, shortly after the news that "Dune: Part Two" had been greenlit, actor Barry Keoghan tweeted out two emojis — one with a finger over the lips (to imply keeping a secret) and one winking.
Fans quickly began discussing "Dune" in the tweet's replies. One fan, @JimVejvoda, made a case for Keoghan's casting, writing, "I hope you are cast in Dune, Part Two as the baddie Feyd. You'd be a really surprising choice, Your unpredictability would lend Feyd a whole new edge." Several different Twitter users expressed their agreement by posting gifs of Sting in character as Feyd from David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of "Dune." One of the users who posted a gif of Feyd, @Atrydka, spoke for everyone's excitement, simply writing, "LET'S GO!!!"
Another fan, @Jessie_theAlien, excitedly replied, "I'm taking this as a sign Dune 2?!!??!! Look at all the comments. He better not be playin w us," complete with a crying face emoji. In response to this tweet, @_ekane, wrote, "OH MY GOD IM GONNA SCREAM." Another fan, @Nic_el_loco, even posted a photo of Keoghan with "Dune" star Timothée Chalamet.
All of this fan chatter even led to Keoghan being asked about the potential role in an interview, which, in turn, only convinced fans more.
Fans think Keoghan's body language confirms his Dune involvement
Not long after Keoghan's cryptic tweet resulted in an explosion of excited fan reactions, Keoghan spoke with Screen Rant to promote "Eternals." Interviewer Ash Crossan brought up that fans took Keoghan's tweet to mean that he may have been cast in "Dune: Part Two." Keoghan, laughed and responded, "Are they? Is that what people are saying?" After Crossan confirmed, Keoghan, looking away from the camera, continued, "Well, I mean, take it whatever way you want, you know." After more laughing, Keoghan concluded by saying "yeah" a few times before Crossan asked if he would be interested in participating in the film. Keoghan responded, "Definitely. I love Timothée [Chalamet], I love Denis [Villeneuve] ... massive, massive fan. That's all I'll say."
One YouTube user, DG, wrote, "He's definitely going to be in Dune Part Two. His body language says it all." A few other fans agreed that his body language was telling, with one user, Brandi Brown, writing, "You could tell he was so surprised people figured it out lol."
Another, lovegalore msp, wrote, "Finally somebody asked him about those cryptic emojis. He's in Dune: Part Two FOR SURE! EEEEEE I'M EXCITED," complete with a heart emoji.
In fact, despite the fact that the interview was for "Eternals," the bulk of the conversation in the comments revolved around Keoghan possibly playing Feyd. It's clear that fans are excited over the prospect, so we just have to wait for an official casting announcement to see if they were right.